The country’s prime minister, Shinzo Abe, said the launch of the Council was a “celebration to mark the start of the robot revolution”, adding: “Robots will dramatically change people’s lives and society.”

US Secretary of State John Kerry, delivering the keynote speech at the World Economic Forum

You know we’re in a lot of trouble when the World Economic Forum sees fit to issue a dire warning about the future of global employment, forecasting that more than 5 million people will lose their jobs across 15 developed economies by 2020 as a direct result of robotics and automation technology.

It’s difficult to say whether WEF is being conservative in its estimate, but since it is considered the mouthpiece of the leaders of the world economy, it’s in its interests to try and calm people’s anxieties over the issue.

In its report, The Future of Jobs, WEF says: “The Fourth Industrial Revolution, which includes developments in previously disjointed fields such as artificial intelligence and machine-learning, robotics, nanotechnology, 3-D printing, and genetics and biotechnology, will cause widespread disruption not only to business models but also to labour markets over the next five years, with enormous change predicted in the skill sets needed to thrive in the new landscape.” [Read more…] about World Economic Forum warns of ‘widespread disruption’ to business by robots